Wiper refills for classic-style arms?

OK, apparently nobody buys or sells wiper blade refills any more--you've gotta buy the whole shebang, arm and all. So what do you guys who own classics do? I need new blades for my '66 Ford Country Sedan, but I don't want to swap out the original, silver-colored arms for cheesy black ones. Any ideas or sources to share?

I tried buying a new set at the auto parts store to just remove the blade, but the new blade was too narrow for the old-style arm.

Ideas appreciated. Cheers!
--Mark

 

Ya got me on that one. I've noticed too. Apparently refills have gone out of style.

 

I got mine at wally world for about 6 bucks each. It was just the wiper "head" so no need to change the whole assembly. Just a universal 15" blade, nothing fancy.

They look like this, not sure how the wipers are set up on cars from the 60's

 

I have no problem finding original refills to fit the Anco or Trico blades of the older cars.
Also there are a ton of NOS refills on ebay.
Many of the older garages and yards have them on their shelves.
You just have to look.

 

I know for a fact Lawrence Roblin has a big selection of refills and blades.
I seen them myself.
Call him for furthter details.
http://www.roblins.net/
E bay..
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...true&_nkwusc=vintage+wiper+refils+anco&_rdc=1

 

Thanks for the tips. I should have thought of eBay. Doh! Not necessarily the type of part you want to be NOS from the sixties, but it looks like I'll be able to find what I need there. Thanks!

 

Old style waper arms and blades............. We have new modern wiper kit on the 55 Chevy wagon. The new serriated thing that sticks up is around 1/2" diameter. The original old style arms are smaller. We are also on the lookout for new arms and blades that appear older style. At least silver or chrome. I suppose I can always paint black ones silver if they fit. Haven't looked beyond the auto part stores here in the boonies. Did discover something, RockAuto has 55 Chevy signal control for around $20 and it is a popular brand. But costs $15 to ship! Still better than in the Classic parts books. Son buys a lot from them. Will check for wipers.

 

Amazon.com has the silicone refills by PIAA. These might work fine. Just search 16" wiper refill and they're right up top. Now all the reviews are from people buying them for late model cars for rear wipers like Prius and Odyssey minivans. I have a Silhouette minivan and it uses 16" out back, as does my Gran Torino up front (two of them) and I still have the original anodized wiper blades ready to go.

Scroll down a little further and they have the 17-160 Trico 16" refills as well. Further down the page and they have the "break-to-fit" refills in 16-22" range. Never saw that before. Pretty cool idea. Remember to measure once and break twice. Federal-Mogul refill pairs finish out the first page of search results on Amazon. Second page has more Trico style refills, like the 71-160 and 72-160 heavy duty models. Third page starts with Anco refills including the U-16R which would likely be the EXACT one you want so I'm linking to that item here directly and stuff. Bottom of 3rd page results have ACDelco original wiper refills in five different model numbers for 16" alone so good luck with that, I have no idea which one is which.

RockAuto also has at least the Motorcraft brand 16" refills. These would be correct for my Torino's original blades. Last item in the blue box at this link:

1976 FORD GRAN TORINO Wiper Blade

 

Sweet, how's that for service? Thanks, much appreciated!! The widget on the Amazon page for those Ancos says they'll fit. I'll order up a set and report back.

 

I would be nervous about buying NOS wiper blades. Rubber oxidizes the moment it hits the air, which is why car manufacturers are recommending replacing tires within 6 to 10 years of date of manufacture, not 6 to 10 years from when they were placed in service.

As long as the replacements were made within the last couple of years, that should work out ok.

 

I always love to see car guys helping other car guys like in this thread. You gotta love the group here on stationwagonforums!

 

Ain't it the truth, SF.

 

Not to be blowing my own Napa horn here, but we do offer "classic" blades that run about $10.00 to $12.00 a piece. They have the classic silver look and have teflon blades in them. Nice wipers that look original and work like new blades. I have refills as well but I don't know about Napa's elsewhere.

 

This is one of the biggest confusions with this topic. Many people think that the "refill" squeegee is the blade. The entire assembly shown above is called the blade. While good spring tension is needed to keep the squeegee following the windshield contours, it is not necessary to replace the blade every time, hence, refills being sold.

I agree with the original post, that it is getting harder to find stores selling just the refills. The local parts stores in my area that do still have them no longer have them out on the shelves, but will get them from the back room if you ask for them.

The wiper blades on my Toyota are not replaceable. They are rivited to the wiper arm. I really don't want to have to buy a wiper blade, that I'm going to have to throw away just to get the refill squeegee.

 

I wish I could get refills for the 24 inch wipers on the Silhouette. Kinda crazy to spend $12 to $20 EACH every time they get worn down.

But that's the price we pay for progress. Engineering a thousand square feet of visibility into a soccer mom van means you gotta buy the BIIIIIG wipers!!! And then they tint the windows and put big huge headrests on every seat. Lots of sense that makes, don't it?

I always bought refills unless the blade was damaged (or I broke it taking the old insert out) or they didn't match. Lots of cars I owned in the past I had summer and winter blades. You can change the summer ones out. The winter ones with the thin rubber wrapping around the blade, those weren't generally replaceable. But with ice storms and all coming up I bought the bracketless Bosch Evolutions this time around. Not sure if it's worth it but I guess I'll find out. Oh, and a quick edit...Amazon does seem to have refills for Bosch wipers. $12 for a pair. Much better than $17 EACH for the blades. I love Amazon! Just not sure if the bracketless ones can have refills installed. I'll find out in a few months when they get worn down.

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-43324-Wiper-Blade-Refill/dp/B000BZL16Q